Work tables, particularly ironing boards



Dec. 3, 1957 'r. LARSEN ,8

WORK TABLES, PARTICULARLY IRONING BOARDS Filed Aug. 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l IINVENTOR. 721's Lars 11 BY K3 W 104% United States Patent WORK TABLES, PARTICULARLY IRONING BOARDS Tore Larsn, Alvsjo, Sweden Application August 6, 1954, Serial No. 448,304

Claims priority, application Sweden August 7, 1953 6 Claims. (Cl. 38-126) The present invention relates to work tables, and more particularly, although not exclusively, to ironing boards, of the kind in which the table top or board proper is provided at one end with a bracket adapted to be detachably mounted at the desired height on a carrier member adapted to be attached to a substantially vertical wall, and having secured thereto at 'a suitable distance from its end carrying said bracket at least one supporting leg of adjustable length.

The mainly characterising feature of the invention resides in that said carrier member consists of a metal rail adapted to be attached to said wall so as to extend vertically therealong and having formed therein a longitudinally extending row of equally spaced preferably crossshaped apertures, and in that said bracket has at least two suitably hook-shaped anchorage elements in vertically spaced interrelation and adapted to be introduced into a corresponding number of apertures in said rail situated at a selectable level, so as to engage the back surface of the rail, the anchorage elements being so dimensioned as to fill out, in their position of engagement, the apertures laterally without any substantial clearance.

The invention will now be more specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of an ironing board incorporating the structural features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the ironing board of Fig. 1, the board proper, however, being partly broken away adjacent the bracket carrying end thereof.

Fig. 3, on a larger scale, illustrates a cross section taken on the line IIIIII in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 3 but partly broken away.

Fig. 5, on a still larger scale, is a side elevation partly in section and partly broken away.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the carrier rail, taken on the line VI-VI in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an end view of the carrier rail.

Fig. 8 is an end view of a carrier rail according to a modified embodiment, and

Fig. 9 an end elevation view of an unloading table constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawing, the elongated board member proper, 10, of the ironing board illustrated therein is provided at one of its ends with a bracket 11 secured to the underside of the board by fastening means such as screws. On its vertically extending leg the bracket 11 has two vertically spaced anchorage elements in the form of downwardly open hooks 12 and 13. By 14 is designated a channel rail being rigidly connected in any suitable manner, such as by welding, with a sheet-metal member 15 the lateral edges of which project beyond the rail and have provided therein holes 16 for screws by which the rail can be attached to a wall surface 17 so as to extend vertically thereon. In the exposed web portion of the rail 14 a row of equally spaced cross-shaped apertures 18 are formed. The spacing of any two adjacent aper- 2,814,892 Patented Dec. 3, 1957 tures 18 in the rail is equal to that of the two hooks 12 and 13 of the bracket 11 so as to enable these hooks to be introduced simultaneously into any selected pair of apertures, whereby the bracket will be hooked onto the rail at a desired height above the floor. The thickness of the hooks 12 and 13 is so chosen that the hooks fit within the apertures 18 with but slight clearance, whereby the bracket 11 and thus the board 10 connected therewith will be prevented from lateral tilting movements upon loading the board non-uniformly relative to its longitudinal axis.

If it is desired to attain a particularly rigid anchorage of the board 10 against tilting movements about its longitudinal axis, then the spacing of the anchorage hooks 12 and 13 relative to each other may be increased by being made to be twice or several times the spacing of any two adjacent apertures 18 in the carrier rail 14.

Approximately centrally intermediate the ends of the board proper 10, a supporting leg 19 is mounted on the underside thereof. This leg consists of two telescoping parts 20 and 21 which, by the aid of a clamping screw 22, may be locked in any desired position into which they have been adjusted so as to enable the adaptation of the length of the supporting leg to the height of the board 10 above the floor in any particular case. The supporting leg 19, as will be seen from Fig. 2, is pivotable relative to the board 10 about a transversally extending axis, at 23, either into a substantially vertical supporting position, which is shown in full; or into a second supporting position in which the leg is inclined towards the wall as illustrated in dot-and-dash lines, the leg bearing in said latter position against the corner between the floor and the wall. The leg, in order to prevent inadvertent sliding along the floor, is provided at its lower end with a ferrule 24 of rubber or any other high frictional material.

A locking hook 25 adapted by its own weight to rock into engagement with the unoccupied aperture situated next below the bracket 11 when hooked in place, prevents the anchorage hooks 12 and 13 from being lifted out of engagement with the carrier rail 14 upon loading the board 10 beyond the supporting leg 19.

In the embodiment illustrated, the uppermost anchorage hook 12 has passed transversely therethrough a pin 26 the two projecting end portions of which form two abutrnents which cooperate, in the engaged position of the hook, with the rear surface of the rail 14 so as to oppose angular displacement of the bracket 11 and thus of the board 10 in a horizontal plane. Angular displacement of the board 10 in a horizontal plane will also be prevented by the feature that the bracket end of the board is adapted to engage the wall when the bracket is hooked on to the rail. A rigid supporting action relative to the wall surface, even if the latter should happen to be of uneven structure, can be attained by tightening a clamping screw 27 which is threaded through a bracket 28 secured to the underside of the board 19 near one of the longitudinal edges thereof. The clamping screw 27 is suitably provided at its abutment end with a ferrule 29 of rubber or the like being rotatably but not-displaceably mounted on the screw. A similar clamping screw can if desired be provided also near the other longitudinal edge of the board 10, symmetrically relative to the screw 27.

For carrying the iron a platform 31) is provided which is mounted on the extreme end of an arm 31 which is angularly adjustable about a vertical pin 32 (Fig. 2) secured to the underside of the board 10 and is lockable in a desired position of angular adjustment by means of a Wing nut 33.

A carrier rail of the type shown in end view in Fig. 7 can either be secured superficially on the wall, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, or it may be recessed in the wall with the mounting flanges embedded in the plastering. The type of carrier rail illustrated in Fig. 8 is intended primarily for being recessed in the wall flush with the wall surface. The cross-shaped or otherwise shaped apertures for the anchorage elements of the bracket are suitably provided in the plate 34 while the holes 35 for the fastening screws are made in the web portion of the channel-shaped rail 36 which serves as the mounting for the assembly.

Referring now to Fig. 9 of the accompanying drawings, the unloading table shown therein has a top 37 of such a large width that it would not be permissible to rely exclusively on the hooks 12 and 13 of the bracket 11 secured to the table top to resist the torque when the table top is subjected to loads acting asymmetrically relative to its longitudinal axis. For this purpose, therefore, the table is provided with two supporting legs 38 and 39 disposed in a common transverse plane and adjacent the respective longitudinal edges of the table top. The two supporting legs are interconnected in that their upper parts are formed by spaced parallel legs of a tube 40 bent into U-shape, the intervening straight portion interconnecting the legs being hinged at 41 to the underside of the table top 37, preferably near the free end of the elongated table. The lower parts of the supporting legs are interconnected by a cross member 42. Each supporting leg 38 and 39, respectively, has a clamping screw of its own, 4-3 and 44, respectively, whereby both of the legs can be brought to engage the floor even if the latter should not be truly horizontal.

I claim:

1. An elongated and horizontally disposed table surface which is especially suitable for use as an ironing board and the like which comprises in combination a single channel-shaped rail adapted to be secured in vertical position at only one position on a vertical Wall, said single rail having a plurality of vertically-spaced apertures, an elongated and horizontally disposed table top having a near end containing a single bracket and a far end containing no bracket, said near and far ends being disposed in a line which is essentially perpendicularly away from the vertical wall surface, the single bracket attached to the said near end of said table top having a pair of hook-shaped, vertically-spaced anchorage elements depending therefrom and adapted to cooperate with apertures in said rail to hold the near end of said table top flush with said vertical wall at a selectable level, said anchorage elements closely fitting said apertures, at least one supporting leg of adjustable length secured to the bottom of said table top intermediate its said near and far ends, a locking member mounted on said bracketadapted when said anchorage elements are locked in said apertures detachably to engage one of said apertures thereby to prevent the bracket from being lifted out ofits anchored position, and a set screw mounted atthe near end of said table top adjacent one of the longitudinal edges thereof and adapted to be screwed into engagement with said wall to prevent swinging of the table top in a horizontal plane.

2. The work table of claim 1 wherein the locking member consists of a hook pivotally mounted on the bracket and adapted to swing into and engage with an empty aperture in the rail.

3. A work table as claimed in claim 1 characterised by the fact that the carrier rail is adapted to be mounted superficially onto the wall.

4. A work table as claimed in claim 1 characterised by the fact that the carrier rail is adapted to be recessed into the wall flush with the Wall surface.

5. A work table as claimed in claim 1 wherein the table top has a relatively large width, and further characterised by the fact that the table top is provided with twosupporting legs disposed on either sides of its longitudinal axis and being individually adjustable as to their lengths.

6. A work table as claimed in claim 5, characterised by the fact that the two supporting legs are interconnected and angularly adjustable in common relative to the table top about a transversely extending axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 70,958 Chittenden NOV. 19, 1867 107,940 Chesney Oct. 4, 1870 977,609 Freeman Dec. 6, 1910 1,005,375 Vanderveld Oct. 10, 1911 1,137,332 Klatte Apr. 27, 1915 1,384,371 Wintemute July 12, 1921 1,974,050 Keil Sept. 18, 1934 2,127,280 Zimbalist Aug. 16, 1938 2,266,206 Jackson et al. Dec. 16, 1941 

